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	Church 'Risks Credibility' If Pedophile Remains a Priest By Roberta Mancuso Herald Sun October 31, 2007 http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22679768-5005961,00.html THE Anglican church will lose all credibility if a convicted pedophile is allowed to remain a priest after he is released from prison next week, a child protection group says. Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, was jailed for 12 months last November after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in Brisbane more than 30 years ago. The boy played the organ at the same parish when Sharwood seduced him through their shared love of classical music. During the two-and-a-half years, Sharwood, then 30, molested the boy up to three times a week, including when he picked him up after school, at the rectory, during musical concerts, at their homes and in a car. Sharwood is due to be released on November 8 after serving one year of a 33-month sentence. The Brisbane Anglican diocese is holding an investigation into Sharwood's status and has invited his victim to give evidence, which could include cross-examination by his abuser. The diocese's Professional Standards Board began the process last November, but no further action could be taken once Sharwood was jailed. A statement released today by Brisbane Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall said the board, headed by Supreme Court judge Debra Mullins, had determined that Sharwood should be "given the opportunity to make a submission before any decision is made on his future" on his release. Archbishop Aspinall said the investigation was a process that needed to be undertaken. But he said his views had not changed since he outlined new principles in 2002 guiding the church's response to complaints of sexual abuse or misconduct, which state offenders "will not be permitted to continue to exercise a ministry which exposes vulnerable people to further harm". "The families involved deserve closure but we have had to wait for the legal system to take its course and as a church we also have to ensure due process," Archbishop Aspinall said in the statement. "The victim in this case deserves nothing less than a thorough and just process that arrives at a proper decision and that is what will happen." Archbishop Aspinall removed Sharwood's licence to operate as a priest in the diocese in 2002, however the convicted pedophile remains an ordained minister. Bravehearts executive director and founder Hetty Johnston said the church did not need to re-examine the case. "They just really need to draw a line in the sand and say 'no'," Ms Johnston said. "The system that they have at the moment actually re-abuses the victims and the victims' families." Ms Johnston any move to allow Sharwood to continue as a priest would do "enormous amounts of damage" to the Anglican church's credibility. "This is a classic example of how far they've got to go (when dealing with child abuse)," Ms Johnston said. Sharwood spent 17 years as a preacher and teacher at an exclusive Brisbane private school, which sacked him in 2002 on hearing about the abuse. His affair with the teenager originally came to light in 1976, when the victim's father discovered a love letter to his son from Sharwood.
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